**
I suggest a picket be set up here in Vancouver, replete with
both a time and place for the film and copies of it for sale, at
cost.
Macdonald
To: Amnesty International, others
Two statements of support of the documentary. See also
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/petition/
Statement in Support of the Documentary Film "The Revolution
Will Not Be Televised"
We write to express our deepest support for public viewings and
screenings of the award-winning documentary film, ﾓThe
Revolution Will Not Be Televised.ﾔ In light of the recent
suspension of the filmﾒs screening at the Amnesty International
Film Festival to be held at the Pacific Cinematheque in
Vancouver, British Columbia, from November 6-9, 2003, as a
result of pressure from opposition groups in Venezuela and their
international counterparts, we find it essential to declare our
support for this revealing film, which evidences heinous human
rights violations carried out during the April 2002 coup dﾒetat
in Venezuela.
ﾓThe Revolution Will Not Be Televisedﾔ is an extraordinary
documentary by Irish filmmakers Kim Bartley and Donnacha Oﾒ
Briain, who by happenstance were able to document the events
surrounding the April 2002 coup dﾒetat against democratically
elected President Chavez of Venezuela. The filmmakers were able
to remain in the presidential palace in Venezuela and document
while opposition forces violently overtook the government and
dismantled Venezuelaﾒs pillar democratic institutions, including
the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, the Constitution and
the offices of the Ombudsman and Attorney General. The film
exposes the atrocious human rights violations committed with the
purpose of executing the coup successfully, including:
- The extrajudicial killing of more than 50 people;
- The torture of pro-government supporters and government
officials;
- The kidnapping and unlawful detention of President Chavez for
a 48-hour period;
- The arbitrary arrest and persecution of pro-government
supporters and officials;
- The violation of rights to political participation and
self-determination by unjustly imposing an unelected de facto
government on citizens;
- The violation of freedom of expression and public access to
information by perpetuating a media-led blackout on information
during the mass protests demanding President Chavezﾒs return to
power, and distorting news and manipulating images that were
used as justification for violence, aggression and the coup itself.
These crimes violate fundamental rights embodied in the American
Convention on Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man
and the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Amnesty International has documented these atrocities in their
2003 Annual Report:
http://web.amnesty.org/report2003/Ven-summary-eng.
The film is presently being screened at film festivals and
theaters around the world. It has provided insight into a
historical event with exclusive footage that reveals details of
this unconstitutional and undemocratic overthrow of an
elected-leader that were previously omitted by the international
mass media. As protectors and defenders of international human
rights, we strongly believe this film is poignant evidence of
human rights violations carried out by the coup leaders. By
allowing the international public to view this documentary
account of the events of April 2002, the audience is able to
bear witness to these inexcusable acts and arrive at their own
conclusions.
We find it unacceptable that Amnesty International, a worldwide
organization campaigning for internationally recognized human
rights, would bow down to pressure from groups opposing the film
ﾒs subject matter and therefore remove it from its upcoming
festival in British Columbia. Amnesty International has decided
to eliminate the film from their upcoming festival based on two
reasons: 1) Amnesty International claims the filmﾒs subject
matter does not address human rights issues; and 2) Amnesty
International believes that screening the film would further
polarize the Venezuelan people and potentially create more
violence within Venezuela.
These reasons are without justification. First of all, the film
specifically documents the above-mentioned human rights abuses
as a result of opposition forces carrying out an illegal coup dﾒ
etat, dismantling democratic institutions and imposing a
blackout on information so facts would not be revealed to either
the Venezuelan people or the international community.
Additionally, Amnesty International independently selected the
film as a part of its festival in Canada. Therefore, the
organization must have believed the filmﾒs subject matter was in
line with the festival theme. It was only upon receipt of a
petition from opposition forces in Venezuela and their
international counterparts that Amnesty decided to remove the
film from the festival schedule. Finally, since the film is
currently showing in theaters around the world, its viewing at a
festival in Vancouver, Canada would no more affect internal
Venezuelan politics than any other screening.
Amnesty International claims to work in pursuit of universal
protection and recognition of human rights and to maintain an
independence of any government, political ideology, economic
interest or religion. Yet, by choosing to remove the film from
its festival, it is siding with those groups opposing its
factual content and documentary perspective. Furthermore, we
view this as an outright case of censorship of this important
portrayal of historical events central to the theme of human
rights and believe it is deplorable that an international
defender of human rights would choose to censor in the face of
pressure, rather than vehemently protect the paramount right of
public access to information. By taking this action, Amnesty
International is perpetuating the blackout on information
imposed by the coup leaders in Venezuela during April 2002.
If Amnesty International is truly concerned with the impartial
protection of human rights, it would follow that screening a
film that exposes horrific human rights violations would be in
line with its mission. We therefore urge Amnesty International
to reconsider its decision to revoke the film, ﾓThe Revolution
Will Not Be Televisedﾔ, from the upcoming festival in Vancouver,
British Columbia. We also reiterate our profound support for
this important chronicle of the unjustifiable coup dﾒetat of
April 2002 in Venezuela that resulted in innocent lives lost and
harmed and the deprivation of basic human rights.
Initial endorsing organizations and individuals:
- International Womenﾒs Human Rights Clinic, CUNY Law School,
New York
- Venezuela Solidarity Committee in New York
- Uni￳n Nacional de Trabajadores (UNT)
- Aporrea.org
- Opci￳n de Izquierda Revolucionaria (OIR)
- Movimineto 13 de Abril - Proyecto Nuestra Am￩rica
- UTOPIA
- Juventud de Izquierda Revolucionaria (JIR)
- Fundaci￳n Cultural Sim￳n Bol￭var
- Coordinadora Sim￳n Bol￭var
- C￭rculo Bolivariano Profesor Alberto Lovera (New York)
- Venezuelanalysis.com
- Eva Golinger-Moncada
- Mart￭n S￡nchez
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